The Science Fiction of Today and Days Gone By

We’re trying a new column this week, with the goal of introducing some of the lesser known sci-fi TV series to a wider audience who might be looking for new shows after binging on more popular works likeStar Trek or Battlestar Galactica. As such, my intent is to do these with as few spoilers as possible, while still addressing the main points of interest. We’ll be starting off by looking at Charlie Jade, a 2005 television series that was filmed and set in South Africa, lasting only one season. For this, I’m going to use a rating system, where a 5 represents must-see, 4 is good, solid television, 3 is “cult classic” stage, where the show’s appeal is likely limited to a specific group, 2 is flawed, but fun, or even “so bad it’s good,” and a 1 is avoid at all costs.

Watching Star Trek TNG as a kid, one of the things that I always wondered about was why an upstanding, philosophical guy like Picard would ever want to run around in the 1940s noir-style world of Dixon Hill in his free time. It just didn’t seem like the kind of thing that would appeal to him, and yet it’s one of the few moments in the entire series where we see Picard earnestly having fun. But now, having read some of the most famous books of that time, I think I understand why.